Coffins traditionally have been made from wooden materials using skills and techniques similar to cabinet making. However such coffins are often very expensive and time consuming to make. They also use expensive materials that also take some time to decompose when buried and may contain toxic materials.
When such coffins are cremated they may also take a significant time to burn to the desired ash consistency and may also release toxic chemical or undesirable products.
Increasingly there are coffins available with a more ecologically friendly build, both in materials and time taken to construct. For example, coffins made from cardboard, and similar products, are available. However these, even when coated, may not cope very well with moisture and may lack robustness. Some cardboard coffins have issues when cremated as they do not of themselves collapse to a fine ash, but rather they retain their shape even in a fully combusted state. This can create issues for handling and returning the ashes.
Further a number of ecologically sound coffins available cannot be rapidly manufactured should there be a sudden demand, for example a natural disaster.
Further typically coffins that are available take up significant space and they are manufactured, shipped and stored in a ready to use condition. Coffins typically have required the use of fasteners, adhesives and or metallic components.
Other coffins of flat pack construction require tools to enable their assembly.
In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved container or coffin, or to overcome one of the shortcomings mentioned above, or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.